By Desire Emmanuel
Justice Oyeyemi Ajayi of the Oyo State High Court on Monday, November 24, sentenced five persons to death by hanging over the killing of a taxi cab driver in Ibadan, the state capital.
Those sentenced, Segun Taiwo, Kehinde Ademola, Yahaya Adeniyi, Chinonso Samson and Opadotun Michael, were convicted on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder.
Justice Ajayi in his judgment said: “Due to the reasons provided for each of the defendants and circumstantial evidence of murder, I am of the considered view that this court could safely infer conspiracy in the acts that led to the death of the driver, Akeem Shittu.
“In the final analysis, I sentenced each of you to 20 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder. Then on count two, each of you is sentenced to death by hanging.”
The State Counsel earlier told the court the convicts and others at large, on April 10, 2024, at about 8:30 p.m at Elepe, Arulogun Road, Ojoo, Ibadan, conspired and murdered Akeem Shittu by inflicting machete cut on him.
The counsel said Shittu, a taxi cab driver, was said to have hit a motorcycle transporting two persons on it. This led to an argument which they tried to settle at a nearby pub.
The deceased was asked to pay N50,000 to treat them but he gave them N8,000. He was not allowed to leave the scene, after which he was stripped naked but he later escaped from them.
He was however overpowered and macheted to death while his taxi cab was later found in front of one of the convicts’ wife’s shop.
According to the prosecuting counsel, the offence is contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 and 324 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State 2000.
